Poster
111
(#111) Matched Analysis Assessing the Clinical and Humanistic Burden of Narcolepsy Using the US National Health and Wellness Survey
Psych Congress 2025
Abstract: Introduction: Narcolepsy, a chronic neurological disorder, presents with debilitating daytime sleepiness and other symptoms. We evaluated clinical and humanistic outcomes in individuals with and without narcolepsy to characterize the burden of narcolepsy.
Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed 2021/2023 US National Health and Wellness Survey data. The narcolepsy cohort reported physician-diagnosed narcolepsy. Analyses were adjusted for demographic/health characteristics between groups using 1:3 propensity score matching (PSM); chi-square tests and t-tests compared outcomes.
Results: Before PSM, 335 respondents with narcolepsy (female=56%; mean age=45.5y) and 141,072 without narcolepsy (female=55%; mean age=47.8y) were included. Respondents with narcolepsy were more likely to have obesity (44% vs 28%; P.001) and smoke (25% vs 17%; P.001) vs controls.
After PSM, the narcolepsy cohort reported higher proportions of physician-diagnosed psychiatric comorbidities vs controls, including depression (58% vs 32%; P.001), anxiety (54% vs 33%; P.001), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (20% vs 6%; P.001). On the Brief Resilience Scale, a greater proportion of respondents with narcolepsy had low psychological resiliency vs controls (43% vs 28%; P.001). On the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, a health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measure, the narcolepsy cohort had lower mean (SD) scores than controls for the mental and physical health composites (32.8 [11.3] vs 40.6 [12.6] and 35.7 [11.4] vs 42.9 [11.6], respectively; both P.001). Mean impairment of daily activities was 51% in the narcolepsy cohort vs 34% in controls (P.001).
Conclusion: The clinical and humanistic burden of narcolepsy is broad. Future narcolepsy management strategies should be comprehensive, including addressing mental health and HRQoL outcomes.
Short Description: In a retrospective, cross-sectional, propensity score−matched analysis of 2021/2023 US National Health and Wellness Survey data, a greater proportion of respondents with narcolepsy had psychiatric comorbidities and low psychological resiliency than those without narcolepsy (controls). The narcolepsy cohort also scored lower across various health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures than controls. Findings illustrate the broad clinical and humanistic burden of narcolepsy; future research should address this burden by focusing on mental health and HRQoL outcomes
Name of Sponsoring Organization(s): Alkermes, Inc.
Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed 2021/2023 US National Health and Wellness Survey data. The narcolepsy cohort reported physician-diagnosed narcolepsy. Analyses were adjusted for demographic/health characteristics between groups using 1:3 propensity score matching (PSM); chi-square tests and t-tests compared outcomes.
Results: Before PSM, 335 respondents with narcolepsy (female=56%; mean age=45.5y) and 141,072 without narcolepsy (female=55%; mean age=47.8y) were included. Respondents with narcolepsy were more likely to have obesity (44% vs 28%; P.001) and smoke (25% vs 17%; P.001) vs controls.
After PSM, the narcolepsy cohort reported higher proportions of physician-diagnosed psychiatric comorbidities vs controls, including depression (58% vs 32%; P.001), anxiety (54% vs 33%; P.001), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (20% vs 6%; P.001). On the Brief Resilience Scale, a greater proportion of respondents with narcolepsy had low psychological resiliency vs controls (43% vs 28%; P.001). On the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, a health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measure, the narcolepsy cohort had lower mean (SD) scores than controls for the mental and physical health composites (32.8 [11.3] vs 40.6 [12.6] and 35.7 [11.4] vs 42.9 [11.6], respectively; both P.001). Mean impairment of daily activities was 51% in the narcolepsy cohort vs 34% in controls (P.001).
Conclusion: The clinical and humanistic burden of narcolepsy is broad. Future narcolepsy management strategies should be comprehensive, including addressing mental health and HRQoL outcomes.
Short Description: In a retrospective, cross-sectional, propensity score−matched analysis of 2021/2023 US National Health and Wellness Survey data, a greater proportion of respondents with narcolepsy had psychiatric comorbidities and low psychological resiliency than those without narcolepsy (controls). The narcolepsy cohort also scored lower across various health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures than controls. Findings illustrate the broad clinical and humanistic burden of narcolepsy; future research should address this burden by focusing on mental health and HRQoL outcomes
Name of Sponsoring Organization(s): Alkermes, Inc.
